Customer Reviews

Tales of a Sea Gypsy

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Tales of a Sea Gypsy was an enjoyable book to read and as a cruising sailor it was refreshing to read great stories and not the "how too" or "what I did on my summer vacation" usual. Ray Jason's writing style keeps you interested, is easy to read and very, very funny. I recommend a cruise through these mini adventures for any diehard cruiser and the many "I wish I was doing that" sailors everywhere.

Chris on SV Rapture

Being a lover of the sea and a sailor for most of my life, I love reading sea tales. A few years back we lost the one great sea story teller in Tristan Jones.
For Christmas my wife bought me this book by Ray Jason, Tales of a Sea Gypsy "a Ray autographed copy". It took me sometime to get around to starting the book but once I was half way through the first yarn I knew this book was for me. I found myself laughing outload story after story.
Tristan had a way of tranforming me into making me feel I was living out part of his story and much to my joy Ray was able to bring me to that special place with him.
This book is for anyone who enjoys adventure and humor in or around the sea. My only regret in the book is, was that when I finished reading it I looked for other books by this arthor, only to find that this is the only one Ray has written so far.
A special thanks to my wonderful wife for finding me this fantastic book and a thank you to Ray for being able to write a book that was fun and exciting to read.
Have we our next Tristan Jones here, I sure hope so because I love reading sea stories and I sure miss the yarns Tristan brought to us.
A must read for anyone who has ever sailed the seas or for all of the armchair sailors out there.

Don and Pam Brame
Sailing vessel
"All the Way"

This is a book that's full of wry humor and adventure, a great companion for seafarers and those of us stuck on land. Jason made me laugh at life and lust for the freedom he worked out for himself. If you like off-beat sea stories, you'll love this book.

As a retired Merchant Seaman and a rag sailor of over 45 years, I found Ray's stories to be a delightful read in my ole rocking chair by the fire. Not many have the opportunity to experience the wonders of a sea life. But you can certainly dream it while reading along. And that's just fine........

Like many of the other reviewers, I have been a boater/ sailor since just a wee little tyke. With the reality of a long term cruise on the horizon I have been gobbling up all sorts of reading about the sea life and lets just say there exists an abundance of great novels and true accounts of life aboard/ cruising: this is not one of them... It is just a collection of terribly anti-climactic short stories. They lack any sort of real punch at the beginning or even the end of the four to six page marvels. Unfortunately for me, I found Jason's writing to be plain, boring, and most of all uninspiring. If you want to live the cruising life through another's eyes check out An Embarrassment of Mangoes, Seasoned By Salt, or The Heart of the Sea. Sorry to the loyal fans, but this one just turned me off, first bad book for me in about fifteen this year on this topic. Move On!

Say you're stuck in your little life and need the proper kick in the pants to do something different and wonderful. This book is all about someone who can show you the way. Ray Jason used his political science degree to its fullest by becoming San Francisco's first street juggler...then progressed up the ladder to success by becoming a world traveling, single-handed sailor (well, mostly single-handed). Ray Jason shows you what the day-to-day life of a full-fledged bon vivant and international drifter is like.

At times absolutely hilarious...other times white-knuckled gripping. He has a fresh approach to writing and nerve up to here! Great book to buy for your sailing pals.

Ray Jayson's hillarious tales from his seagoing adventures are the perfect cure for the landlubber blues. Leave your armchair behind and sail with Ray in his 29-foot sailboat "Adventura" to exotic ports like Costa Rica, Panama, and Hanalei. His tales are spun with such attention to detail that you feel the tension of the life line on your back as salty ocean spits on your face. With Ray Jason as your captain, there's never a dull moment. Only a seasoned sea gypsy could tell stories like this and make you believe that they actually happened.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who has a love of life and a spirit for adventure. Ray Jason's passion for sailing and the cruising life is definitely contagious! I'm not a seasoned sailor, but this book has given even me the urge to try crossing the Panama Canal! Of course, it's a perfect gift for any sailing enthusiast. If you're lucky enough to see Ray juggling at Mallory Square in Key West, bring a copy for him to autograph!

Reading this book WILL make you want to go out and buy a sailboat.....
Ray has put together a series of delightfully entertaining yarns of his adventures sailing solo on Aventura. This is a must read book for sailors and sailor wannabes......land lubbers will also find it most enjoyable.
I look forward to the second book.......

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Few people get the pleasure of sailing their way through life, so most folks don't get the chance to appreciate that thrill. Reading about it is as close as they come. Ray Jason's "Tales of a Sea Gypsy" is a terrific way to touch the seagoing life, even if you don't go near the water. This old salt and longtime reader of tales of the sea has left the briny deep for calmer waters closer to shore and given his oilskins to a younger sailor - a girl, by gemini! That makes reading about seagoing exploits the more important. This is one of those good books to come along and capture the imagination.

Master mariner, jocular juggler, stellar teller of a whale of a tale about the tails of whales - he's that and more. Ray Jason's "Tales of a Sea Gypsy" is the book for everyone. Five stars for sure.

We would all like to have the freedom, inclination and spirit to sail away and learn about the world through adventurous times. Ray Jason, the juggling sailor, story teller and free spirit, weaves an enchanting tale of adventures and misadventures while sailing into foreign ports. His humor is enthralling and compelling...makes you laugh and cry at the same time. His writing is superbly descriptive; you can picture all of the details of those adventures. We all wish we could take such trips but few of us will take the risk. This is a book for all to read over and over again. Perhaps the best way to enjoy such a treasure is to read it orally to friends and family! This is a unique book and one that we all can relish whether experienced at sailing or not. Buy it and enjoy!